What’s the latest trend among high-end fashion houses? Shorts…film shorts, that is.
According to a recent article in the WSJ:
“Arty, sometimes obscure videos have long been produced by fashion houses looking for a subtle way to peddle their brand to a discriminating audience. But such efforts have been limited to the big brands and scattershot, reflecting the high cost of production and screen time. While getting a 30-second television commercial can be expected to cost at least $1 million, an online fashion video can average $50,000 to produce with no distribution costs, executives say.
With the Internet and digital technology, industry executives say short online videos have become an essential part of the fashion marketing tool box, offering customers a new way to interact with a brand and show clothing in motion. Yves Saint Laurent, Marni, Rebecca Taylor and Steven Alan—none of whom have ever advertised on television—have all released online films within the last six months, timed to coincide with runway season as well as to the arrival of in-season clothes in stores.
The lower production and distribution costs also allow fashion houses to be more daring and experimental in their efforts. Marni’s video for the 2010 Summer collection, released in January in collaboration with video artist Rohan Wadham, is a two-minute stop-motion vignette starring two almond-eyed white dolls. Prada’s “First Spring,” by artist Yang Fudong, is an esoteric, noirish nine-minute black-and-white film in which no one speaks a word.”
